Movie Reviews – December 2018

Movie Reviews – December 2018

By A.D. Beal

Overlord
A group of American soldiers discover a secret lab underneath a German radio tower, where they discover experiments to reanimate the dead.

Overlord is a crazy, entertaining movie. It delivers on the exciting grindhouse-like action and monster effects you expect from the trailers, while delivering two great leads with Jovan Adepo and Wyatt Russell. The dynamic they have together is not only interesting, but it leads to some surprising themes from the film, that of going lower than your enemy in order to win. It’s impressive and makes the film that much more engrossing. Nothing revolutionary, but it’s one not to miss.

Roma
Roma shows us a year in the life of a family and their nanny as the father is away on business.

Empathy, that’s the word to describe Roma. You feel nothing but empathy for Cleo and the family she works for. The actors, many of whom are first-timers, earn it, because they are amazing – especially Yalitza Aparicio as Cleo. Alfonso Cuaron also impresses not only with his direction, but also his work as his own cinematographer, with the film featuring several long takes that put you into the world. While the film will be seen by many on Netflix, the sound design is fantastic and must be experienced in theaters. It captures every raindrop, car and person walking by, and it’s absolutely immersive, and must get a nomination from the Academy.

NOTE: Roma will only be playing in select theaters, and will be available on Netflix on December 14.

Bohemian Rhapsody
The story about the rise, fall and resurgence of Freddie Mercury and Queen.

Every biopic has to take some creative liberties with history, that’s understandable. But Bohemian Rhapsody crosses many lines. The depiction of Freddie Mercury being the only diva of the band while Brian May & Roger Taylor were perfect friends that just wanted to help is rather disturbing, mostly due to the fact that the latter two were heavily involved in the making of this movie. And if you’re wondering why John Deacon isn’t listed in that, well that’s because not only is he not credited like May & Taylor, but he is constantly shafted in the film, essentially relegated to just “the fourth member of Queen” (the man doesn’t even get a proper introduction scene). There are plenty other moments I could bring up, but I think the fact that the big emotional scene towards the end, where Mercury reveals his AIDS diagnosis is the worst example. The film depicts this as happening just before Live Aid in 1985, when in reality Mercury was not diagnosed until 1987. It’s REALLY bad when your big “tearjerker bit” has to be falsified.

This could be forgiven if Bohemian Rhapsody was at least interesting, but it basically follows every musical biopic trope to a T and isn’t even shot or edited interestingly outside a sparse few moments. That’s really unfortunate given how extraordinary of a band Queen was. Rami Malek’s amazing performance as Mercury, which captures all his mannerisms and traits while rarely feeling like an imitation, couldn’t save this movie.

Suspiria
A dance academy secretly run by a coven of witches prepares for an upcoming ritual as a psychotherapist searches for a missing student.

This is how you do a remake. Keep the spirit of the original film while making your own path, and Luca Guadagnino does that. Creepy, beautiful, and terrifying, Suspiria will never make you leave its world until the credits roll. Thom Yorke’s score is breathtaking, experimenting with different types of music not expected in a horror film. A great cast all around, but Dakota Johnson, Mia Goth, Tilda Swinton and “Lutz Esberdorf” are the greats. And don’t even get me started on the cinematography. A word of warning though: if you have a weak stomach, this might not be for you.